TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN (BY STRATEGY)

Another strong solo album from Eno, this time around he used a more consistent set of musicians and relied less on a revolving cast of guests, giving the album a more consistent sound from track to track. From the driving, hypnotic proto-punk of Third Uncle (which drips the influence of Neu! from every pore) to alternatingly sentimental and strange material like Burning Airlines or Mother Whale Eyeless, Eno crafts a sonic world with a consistent atmosphere of subdued melancholy about it. Perhaps not as diverse as Here Come the Warm Jets, but where that had furious creative energy this has a contemplative and deliberate approach to music-making which rewards repeated listens.